Friday, September 18, 2015

Children

With no pretense of being lucid in this matter I can think of no more compelling reason to live on and not succumb to the taunt and temptation of taking one's life than the existence of one's young brood. But that almost indomitable love of and dedication to progeny, crass as it may be to our sensibilities, is not some lofty humanistic ideal that we socialize ourselves into possessing but a primordial current that has coursed through the welter of life for eons and has been a vital ingredient in the development and continuing presence of higher lifeforms. Swathe as we may in philosophical garb this affinity and irresistible urge to protect the young, it is in fact pure biology which we are dressing up, justifying and laying on a pedestal.

Should we do otherwise then? Of course not. Determined beings we are. And determined we are to fiercely ensure the survival of children. I see it rationally for what it is. But I do not feel it rationally. Rather I feel it in my guts and am driven by these forces. My mind sees this as all well and good and therefore gives the heart free rein.

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